In early April of 2004,
representatives of SSWA, DU, Town of Babylon, and
NYS DEC took a boat ride to Grass Island. The
purpose of our visit was to evaluate the progress
of the "Al McCormick Project". Grass
Island was the first Ducks Unlimited restoration
project done on Long Island. It took many months
of hard work and planning by Steve Sanford
(NYSDEC), Craig Kessler (DU), and the Town of
Babylon to get the initial work started. The SSWA
helped raise funds for the work to be done on the
Island, and help with the planting phase of the
project.
The overall view of the group was that the upland
region was doing well. Most of the trees, plants,
and grasses that were planted on the higher
ground had taken hold. The same could not be said
for the many ponds that were dug on the Island.
Low water levels in the ponds has allowed
phragmites to colonize in them. The phragmites
crowds out the good grasses and plants, resulting
in a less diverse habitat.
Everyone agreed that something should be done
about this problem. We discussed many options,
from burning, mowing, disking, to approved
herbicides. It was decided that herbicides would
be the best way to handle the problem. The plan
will be to spray the phragmites and then mow or
burn the dead plants. We would dig the center of
the ponds deeper, hoping that they will hold more
fresh water to help prevent
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the regrowth of phragmites.
And finally, we would plant native grass and
other plants in and around the ponds.
So as of right now, personnel of the Town of
Babylon are working on getting all the permits
needed to do the spraying and other work. The
process of getting the permits can take between 9
and 24 months. We were given permission to clear
the phragmites by hand in the center of the
ponds. The purpose of this would be to open some
fresh water for the ducks and geese until the
major work can be done.
If and when we get the OK on phase 2 of the Al
McCormick Project, it’s going to take a lot
of hard work and funding to complete this task.
That’s why the fund raising from our next
few raffles will be earmarked for this cause.
Now’s our chance to raise money for work
being done right here on Long Island. Please try
to sell as many tickets as you can, we have got
some really good prizes this year.
When we were leaving the Island that rainy April
morning, a hen mallard flew up on the Al
McCormick sign posing for pictures. It was as if
she was saying "You did a good job on the
first phase, but we could still use a little more
help." |